


a grand plan goes wrong

by Amira_Illusion



Series: mumrik adventures [1]
Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, Opowiadania Muminków | Die Mumins | The Moomins (Stop Motion 1977)
Genre: Cat Parent Joxaren | The Joxter, Family Reunions, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Good Parent Joxaren | The Joxter, Kinda, Moominpappa has a plan, No Angst, Snufkin had a good childhood, Snufmin implied, Snusmumriken | Snufkin is a Cat, yip yip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24372133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amira_Illusion/pseuds/Amira_Illusion
Summary: Moominpappa looked between the two of them, regarding them rather closely. "Are you two sure you know each other?"Joxter and Snufkin shared a glance.
Relationships: Joxaren | The Joxter & Snusmumriken | Snufkin, Joxaren | The Joxter /Mymlan | Mymble (implied), Mumintrollet | Moomintroll & Snusmumriken | Snufkin
Series: mumrik adventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759708
Comments: 5
Kudos: 142





	a grand plan goes wrong

The first sign was the birds.

Moomintroll saw Snufkin listening to the birds with rapt attention. This was not unusual, Snufkin often gave the animals of the wood mostly equal attention, with a clear but unspoken bias towards those singing in the trees. It was just another one of the unique behaviours that made Snufkin unarguably himself. Even then, Moomin had never seen him so captivated by it, especially during one of their adventures.

Moomin could understand why though. Today, instead of each bird singing over themselves, their tune sounded very much the same, each bird adding their own offering to the overall melody. It was something that Moomin had heard before, of course, as whenever Snufkin played his harmonica, the surrounding wildlife would soon join in.

Right now, it seemed the valley had harmonised all by itself.

Moomin kept quiet and listened too, not wanting to interrupt Snufkin's moment. He seemed unaware that his friend had joined him and so the silence stretched. Moomin felt carried by the music, time slipping away as they stood, just watching the branches.

But just as quickly as the spell was cast, it broke, "What are you two looking at?" Sniff squeezed in between them, searching the trees for treasure or something equally shiny. At his loud arrival, the song quietened somewhat but was surprisingly persistent. 

Snufkin tilted his hat over his eyes, smiling mysteriously. "The birds." The words hung in the air for a second, Sniff seemingly too confused to add anything else. Moomin looked behind his fuzzy friend to see Snorkmaiden waiting patiently in the flower field for them. Snufkin righted his hat again, done with theatrics for the moment. "But let's not let them keep us from adventure any longer. Yip yip!"

\---

"They are awful gossips." Snufkin said later, while Moomin helped him start his fire under the darkening sky. Moomin paused with setting the kindling down, staring unsure at the twigs in his paws. Snufkin was plenty eccentric but he couldn't possibly mean...

"Who is?" 

"The birds," Snufkin added offhandedly, looking for something in his pack, "if you know how to listen, the bird radio is the quickest way to know about the happenings in the world and they can never resist a good song."

Moomin regarded his friend curiously. The random musings were a habit and rather pleasant to listen to but he couldn't help but wonder how Snufkin knew these kinds of things. He simply nodded and when they separated for the night, Moomin found himself listening a little closer to the night owl's that lived around his house.

\---

The second sign wasn't as much a sign as it was a series of odd moments.

Snufkin was a lot more on guard than usual. Moments that the other teen would usually not bat an eye at were now full of sharp, overcautious movements.

A couple of weeks after Moomin had found Snufkin staring at the birds, he found him in a staring contest with a bush.

Moomin, Snufkin and Little My had gone to the small, wild orchard that was a little way behind the house to get some fruit for Moominmamma's pie. Moomin suspected Little My had only joined them to get a quick snack and maybe annoy them both while she was at it.

Little My, like the nimble Mymble she was, effortlessly climbed into a nearby tree and disappeared from sight. Moomin sighed and started gathering some of the lower hanging fruit, his basket soon growing fuller of projectiles My had hurtled at him from above than his own efforts.

Snufkin had used a different tactic altogether. At first, he'd wandered off, scanning the ground for something. He was only gone for 5 minutes at most before returning with a rather long stick he used to dislodge some of the higher hanging fruit. When Little My had sent some flying his way, he'd dodged it rather gracefully before brandishing the very long stick as a weapon and hitting the branch the fruit had come from, a challenge in his eyes. 

The next bit of fruit dislodged his hat but no other followed, the rest exclusively attacking Moomintroll.

Even that finally slowed, Little My getting bored and leaving them to carry the overflowing baskets of fruit home. 

"Do you think this will be enough for Mamma?" Moomtroll half-joked, looking up to see Snufkin's reactions and faltering when he sees the other crouched down, staring at a bush under the largest apple tree in the area.

A shiver passed down Moomin's spine. For some unexplainable reason, most likely some ancestral Moominian instincts, he had the feeling the bush was staring back. 

Worried for his friend, Moomin padded towards him, placing a comforting and protective paw on the other's shoulder. As had become commonplace recently, Snufkin's whole body tensed and jolted, head snapping to the side rather suddenly.

"Are you alright Snufkin?" Moomin inquired. Now that he was closer he, too, began staring at the bush. Under his watchful gaze, it rustled once and then stopped moving completely.

Snufkin stood up straight, smoothing out his green coat as he did so. "I am fine, Moomin. I thought I heard someone over there." He looked at the bush again before he picked up his basket with unexpected ease. "No matter, it seems I was just imagining it."

Moomin walked back over to his own basket, managing to pick it up after a second of struggling. "Maybe it's just a very shy creature?" He said, trying to cheer the other up.

At this, Snufkin's mysterious smile seemed to reappear. "I'd call them more patient than shy." He readjusted his grip so that he was holding the fruit one-handed, scooped his hat up with the other and, with one last look at the bush, began the walk towards Moominhouse.

Growing more and more confused, Moomintroll hobbled after his very confusing friend, so many questions chasing themselves in his thoughts.

\---

The third sign wasn't much of a sign either. 

The day after the orchard incident, Moominpappa woke him up just as dawn broke.

"Pappa, what-" 

"Son, you must keep Snufkin away from Moominhouse at least till lunch." Moominpappa was pacing Moomin's room, nodding to himself and acting as if the whole situation was very grave indeed.

Moomin was once again confused. "But why?"

Moominpappa stopped pacing, meeting Moomin's eye and saying in a deadly serious voice. "A grand plan of mine will finally come to fruition today and, with two lives hanging in the balance, we simply cannot allow anything to interrupt it."

"Pappa-"

"The plan. Moomintroll, will you follow it?" Moominpappa insisted.

Moomintroll sighed, rubbing at his eyes due to the early awakening. The birds were singing loudly outside, so the day had started, but Moomin would still prefer to be asleep. "Pappa. I don't even know what the plan is."

Moominpappa waved a paw dismissively. "That is fine. Just keep the young Snufkin busy and away from the house." He seemed to think he'd successfully persuaded his son because, without another word, he left Moomin's room.

Moomin decided that, if he was awake, he might as well see what Snufkin was doing. If that meant he went along with his Pappa's plan, then that was just a bonus.

When he finally made it outside, greeting Moominmamma in the living room on the way out, he thought he was seeing double.

Down the hill, on the bridge where Snufkin always fished, were two figures who looked as identical as two waterdrops.

The bird song seemed to crescendo.

"Goodness," said Moominpappa behind him, "this won't do at all!" He rushed past Moomin, making his way down the hill Moominhouse stood on rather quickly. Moomintroll, curiosity pushing him, followed after.

On closer inspection, Snufkin and the stranger had many differences between them. While Snufkin's hair was auburn, the strangers' was a dark brown and unlike Snufkin's hazel eyes, the strangers' gleamed a brilliant blue. 

"Old friend!" Moominpappa called towards the bridge. The stranger's eyes slid from Snufkin to look at him. Moomintroll thought they made him look remarkably like a cat. "How long has it been?"

"Over a decade surely, dear Moomin." The stranger sounded as rough as he looked, his clothes aged and torn. "I see you wooed Moominmaiden after all." He said when his gaze settled on Moomintroll, tipping his hat in greeting. Somehow the red hat looked the newest of all of his clothes.

Moominpappa looked flustered as he cut across Moomin's return greeting. "Yes, well, that's neither here nor there." He gestured at the stranger, "Moomintroll, let me introduce one of my oldest friends, the great wanderer-"

"Joxaren." Snufkin interrupts, saying the name in the same bland tone one would use while commenting on the weather and destroying the dramatic build-up Moominpappa had created.

The stranger's mouth quirked into what appeared to be an amused smile, exposing rather sharp canines. "Snusmumriken." He responded, matching Snufkin's tone.

Snufkin's cheeks coloured. "I much prefer Snufkin these days." While Moomin found the concept of Snufkin having another name quite baffling, Joxaren smile only seemed to widen.

"Quite right too."

"By the Booble, Joxter, do you mean to tell me you know each other?" Moominpappa exclaimed.

Joxaren, who Moomin guessed prefered Joxter, looked at Moominpappa with a very confused look on his face. "Know each other? Dear Moomin, are you losing your touch? Can't you see the striking resemblance? Snufkin here is my son."

"Well, yes, I know that!" Moominpappa answered indignantly, "do you take me for a fool?"

"You know that?" Moomin asked, rather glad that Snufkin knew his father but also confused why his Pappa was making this seem like such a big deal.

Moominpappa gestured between the Joxter and Snufkin. "Come on son, just look at them." Then his Pappa looked between the two of them, regarding them rather closely. "Are you two sure you know each other?"

Joxter and Snufkin shared a glance before they both turned to Moomintroll. "I'll be seeing you later, Moomin." Snufkin waved a hand in farewell before both he and his father, in a practised movement, disappeared into the treeline in typical Snufkin fashion.

**Author's Note:**

> Snufkin deserves a happy childhood. 
> 
> That’s it, that’s the life goal.


End file.
